LED tube with light guiding plate arranged in a triangle

Abstract

An LED tube includes an envelope, three light guiding plates received in the envelope, three LEDs mounted on the light guiding plates, and two covers fixed to two opposite ends of the envelope. The three light guiding plates each have an end face confronting a corresponding LED, an inner face having a plurality of dots formed thereon and an outer face opposite to the inner face. Light emitted by each LED is diffused by the dots of a corresponding light guiding plate to radiate outside uniformly.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An LED (light emitting diode) tube, comprising:
 an envelope; 
 a plurality of light guiding plates received in the envelope, and arranged in a triangle, each light guiding plate having a plurality of dots formed at a first face thereof; and 
 a plurality of LEDs each facing a second face of a corresponding light guiding plate; 
 wherein light emitted from each LED enters a corresponding light guiding plate through the second face, travels in the light guiding plate, and being scattered by the dots to uniformly radiate out of the corresponding light guiding plate and away from the other light guiding plates. 
 
     
     
       2. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the first face is located adjacent to the second face. 
     
     
       3. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the first face has an area larger than that of the second face. 
     
     
       4. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the dots comprises micro holes defined in the first face. 
     
     
       5. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the dots comprises micro protrusions protruding from the first face. 
     
     
       6. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein each light guiding plate has a reflective layer formed on the first face and covering the dots. 
     
     
       7. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the light guiding plates are spaced from each other with a gap defined between every two adjacent light guiding plates. 
     
     
       8. The LED tube of  claim 1  further comprising two covers fixed to two opposite ends of the envelope, wherein one of the two covers has a circuit board electrically connected to the LEDs. 
     
     
       9. The LED tube of  claim 8 , wherein each cover has a plurality of supporting plates, the first face of each light guiding plate being attached on a corresponding supporting plate. 
     
     
       10. The LED tube of  claim 9 , wherein the light guiding plates are surrounded by the supporting plates of each cover. 
     
     
       11. The LED tube of  claim 9 , wherein the supporting plates of the one of the two covers are directly connected to the circuit board. 
     
     
       12. The LED tube of  claim 9 , wherein the supporting plates of each cover are arranged in a triangle. 
     
     
       13. The LED tube of  claim 12 , wherein the supporting plates of each cover are spaced from each other with a gap defined between every two adjacent supporting plates. 
     
     
       14. The LED tube of  claim 9 , wherein each supporting plate has a length less than that of each light guiding plate. 
     
     
       15. The LED tube of  claim 9 , wherein each supporting plate is opaque, and each light guiding plate is transparent. 
     
     
       16. The LED tube of  claim 1 , wherein the envelope has a light diffusion layer formed on an inner circumferential face thereof.